Yo-Yo Health Habits and How to Stop

We commonly hear about “yo-yo” dieting, but in fact people are tempted to approach many other health habits in that up and down style. What is yo-yoing? When you try dieting or getting healthy in an all or nothing fashion, then you’re yo-yoing. These health habits feel great when you’re on the upswing, successfully performing all the rules that you’ve set in place.

Once you run out of motivation to practice health habits at such a stringent level, then you enter the yucky downswing of this practice. All the progress you made can seem to vanish overnight. How do you break this vicious cycle? Yo-yo habits place a burden on your body by not letting health settle into a steady rhythm. With so many ups and downs, the body doesn’t feel rested or truly taken care of. The habits are also intertwined with mental-emotional ups and downs. To break the cycle, this style of healthiness has to be recognized for what it really is—a diversion rather than true self care. When you decide to go from nothing to everything, from total neglect to constantly pressuring your mind and body to do one thing, real health habits don’t get a chance to develop.